'Stop the genocide' chanted during Israel's Eurovision semi-final performance

CHANTS OF ‘STOP the genocide’ could be heard as Israel’s Eurovision contestant took to the stage tonight at the first semi-final of the 70th song contest in Vienna, Austria.

Israel’s act, Noam Bettan, performed at Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle amid heightened security and controversy as five nations, including Ireland, boycott the event over Israel’s participation.

Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland decided to drop out of Eurovision last year in protest over Israel’s war on Gaza and after revelations of unfair voting practices at the 2025 contest.

Austrian host broadcaster ORF confirmed before the semi-finals began that it would not ban use of the Palestinian flag within the venue and wouldn’t censor booing from the crowd.  

Many Israeli flags were waved by the audience during the live broadcast of Bettan’s performance. A Palestine flag was also visible. 

Bettan said this week that he had been preparing for Eurovision by having his team boo him during rehearsals.

Israel was among the 10 contestants in tonight’s semi-final who successfully made it to Saturday’s grand final.

Greece, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania and Poland also qualified, while Portugal, Georgia, Montenegro, Estonia and San Marino didn’t make it into the final.

Tonight’s performances come as an investigation by the New York Times found that the Israeli government spent at least $1 million (€850,000) on promotional campaigns linked to Eurovision voting efforts over the past two years.

A small demonstration was held in Vienna against Israel’s participation in the contest tonight – one of several scheduled for the week. 

Authorities planned a heavy security presence in the city throughout the week, with counter-extremism officers, drones and bomb-detection dog units all being deployed and public order units placed on standby.

Airport-style security was in place for anyone entering the contest venue throughout the week.

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The show, hosted by Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski, opened with a performance from former Eurovision winner Vicky Leondros, followed by performances from the contestants.

Moldova kicked off the show with a performance by rapper Satoshi of the song Viva, Moldova! Then Sweden’s Felicia performed the song My System and Croatia’s Lelek sang Andromeda.

Greece’s Akylas sang Ferto in tigerprint coat, shorts and hat against a retro video game backdrop that also showcased knitting, a glitterball and classical statue that came to life.

This was followed by Portugal’s Bandidos do Cante performing the song Rosa. Georgia’s act Bzikebi then sang On Replay and Italy’s Sal Da Vinci performed the song Per Sempre Si.

Eurovision favourites, Finnish duo Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen, then performed their song Liekinheitin, or Flamethrower.

Normally only the lead vocal is live at Eurovision, but Lampenius was given special dispensation to play her instrument live.

Next up was Montenegro’s Tamara Živković singing Nova Zora, followed by Estonia’s Vanilla Ninja performing the song Too Epic to Be True.

Israel’s Noam Bettan then sang Michelle, a song in Hebrew, French and English, followed by Germany’s Sarah Engels, who sang the song Fire.

Belgium’s Essyla performed Dancing on the Ice and Lithuania’s Lion Ceccah sang Sólo quiero más.

San Marino was up next with SENHIT featuring 1980s Culture Club star Boy George performing the song Superstar, followed by Poland’s Alicja performing Pray.

Serbian progressive metal band Lavina closed the concert with the song Kraj Mene.

Fifteen more acts will compete in Thursday’s second semi-final, with 10 going through.

Alongside Eurovision’s major financial backers Britain, France, Germany and Italy, hosts Austria have a guaranteed spot in Saturday’s 25-country final.

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